Jul

12

Solar eclipse

July 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment

July 11: The moon passes between the sun and the earth during a solar eclipse in Valparaiso City, 75 miles (121 km) northwest of Santiago. The effect was created by shooting part of the image through a piece of exposed X-ray film.

See the full FOX news slide show of the eclipse on Sunday, and in 2009.

Today we may know what causes an eclipse but in ancient times, the explanations were perhaps more inventive or fantastic.

Animals and the reigning mythology of the time and area made for startling tales. In Argentina it was said that a jaguar ate the sun while in Vietnam, it was thought that a giant frog swallowed the fiery ball. A dragon took the honours in India, Indonesia and China, while in Siberia the tales were of sun-swallowing vampires.

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Jul

7

Talking poetry

July 7, 2010 | Leave a Comment

ALZHEIMER’S IS a state of mind, of brain, that some people fear more than death itself – whether for themselves or family, partners. It puts a barrier between what we know of a person and our way of getting to know more of them. It confounds communication, blurs memory, sows confusion, produces apparently inexplicable outbursts, nonsensical pieces of expression. Pieces of seemingly unconnected life experience are tossed the way of the caregivers, lovers, friends. It is, in a bizarre way, the poetry of the mind taken to Dadaism.

So why not use poetry as conduit, bridge, translator?

The Alzheimer’s Poetry Project, founded by New York poet Gary Glazner, is not built on the traditional, stand-at-the-podium-and-read poetry recital. Rather, it uses the simple rhymes typically learned in childhood or whimsical works created on the spot with audience participation. The facilitator moves among the seniors, holding their hands, touching their shoulders, gently prodding them to share their thoughts, reawakening long-ago memories.

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